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Original Research
Haematological reference intervals for healthy adults in Bamenda, Cameroon
Submitted: 07 April 2020 | Published: 21 December 2020
About the author(s)
Victor N. Fondoh, Administration/Quality Management, Bamenda Regional Hospital Laboratory, Regional Hospital Bamenda, Bamenda, Cameroon; and, Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Health and Medical Sciences, Catholic University of Cameroon, Bamenda, Cameroon; and, Department of Health Economics Policy and Management, Faculty of Business Management, University of Cameroon, Bamenda, CameroonRichard M. Fondoh, Administration/Pharmaceutical Management, North-West Regional Fund for Health Promotion, Bamenda, Cameroon
Charles N. Awasom, Department of Anatomy, School of Health and Medical Sciences, Catholic University of Cameroon, Bamenda, Cameroon
Pefoule L. Edith, Bamenda Regional Hospital Laboratory, Regional Hospital Bamenda, Cameroon
Winlove A. Ntungwen, Patient First Laboratory, Columbia, Maryland, United States
Bong Roland, Product Safety/Quality Control Mangement, Geochim Sarl, Cameroon
Rebeca Enow-Tanjong, Department of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Health and Medical Sciences , Catholic University of Cameroon, Bamenda, Cameroon
Patrick Njukeng, Global Health Systems Solutions, Limbe, Cameroon
Judith Shang, Laboratory Service, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Egbe P. Egbengu, Department of Medicine and Surgery, School of Health and Medical Sciences, Catholic University of Cameroon, Bamenda, Cameroon
Talkmore Maruta, East Central and Southern Africa Health Community, Arusha, Tanzania, United Republic of
Akazong Etheline, Department of Biochemistry, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon
Robert Leke, Department of Medicine and Surgery, School of Health and Medical Sciences, Catholic University of Cameroon, Bamenda, Cameroon
Ayuk Leo, TB-Department, Regional Hospital Bamenda, Bamenda, Cameroon
Denis Nsame, Administration/Management, Regional Hospital Bemenda, Bamenda, Cameroon
Abstract
Background: In the era of evidence-based medicine, haematological reference intervals are essential for the interpretation of data for clinical decision-making, monitoring of treatment and research. It is not uncommon that reference intervals used in most African countries have been obtained from published scientific literature, textbooks, reagent/instrument manuals.
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine haematological reference intervals of healthy adults in Bamenda, Cameroon.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted between June and November 2015. Participants were voluntary blood donors at the Blood Bank Service of the Regional Hospital Bamenda aged between 18 and 65 years. The mean, median and standard deviation of the mean were calculated for each haematological parameter. The 95th percentile reference intervals were determined using the 2.5th and 97.5th percentile. The differences between gender for all the parameters were evaluated using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Significance was determined at the 95% confidence level.
Results: Out of a total of 340 participants, 202 (59.4%) were men and 138 (40.6%) were women. The median red blood cell, haemoglobin, haematocrit and mean cell haemoglobin concentration were significantly higher in men than women (p < 0.001). The median white blood cell, absolute lymphocytes count, absolute granulocytes and platelet counts for men were significantly lower than those for women (p < 0.011).
Conclusion: We propose that the present established haematological reference intervals in this study should be used for clinical management of patients and interpretation of laboratory data for research in Bamenda.
Keywords
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